There are definitely alternative means to trying to log in with the Administrator account. This isn't an attempt to debate them, but just my reasoning for why I recommended the safe mode route: The Administrator account should actually show up, so it isn't subject to typos and it's less easy to misunderstand (particularly when there are other accounts with Administrator priveleges). If there is no Administrator account on the machine (such as if it's an HP computer configured to use HP_Administrator), no Administrator account will show up in safe mode and time guessing passwords for a nonexistent account won't be a problem. More accounts might show up in the safe mode login screen, which by chance may not have passwords, may be recognizeable, etc. I don't disagree that there are easier ways to access the administrator account, and which is best varies based on computer skill level. These were the main reasons I considered, and I decided that the safe mode route would be the most simple. And there are other alternatives that haven't been mentioned if the others don't work. Like inserting a Windows disk, checking whether there are multiple partitions with free space available, and if so installing Windows on the other partition. This would provide access to the local hard drives without dealing with linux, hardware changes, etc. But it requires the existence of an extra partition, a Windows CD w/product key, and a couple hours. I assume that isn't reasonable. If it gets to the point where you have lots of time and really need to access the computer, there are other alternatives...

Just to be clear about this, there are accounts that you can create with administrator priveleges, and then there is a built-in account called "Administrator" that XP has automatically. I am pretty sure from previous discussions that Mr. Speicher paid a lot of attention to security, so this may not work. But, by default I do not believe the builtin Administrator account has a password. If you start up or reboot the computer and keep tapping F8 (you have to press it on a certain screen before Windows loads), that should give you a menu that allows you to boot into safe mode. On the list of accounts to login with, there should be all the usual ones, plus Administrator (and maybe Guest or a couple more). Try logging in as Administrator without a password or with a blank password. This is something commonly not locked down, which may allow you to gain access. If you are able to get in this way, you may be able to get access to the Outlook messages directly--if not, you should be able to reset passwords and/or create new accounts on the machine. This is probably the easiest thing to try, but it may not work.

I think the linux bootable CD is the best option if it works, but I'm not sure how well you will be able to access other computers on the network, deal with network permission issues, etc. If you have a big enough flash drive or an external hard drive, it would probably be best to boot to the linux CD, search the computer's hard drive for all *.pst files including hidden folders, and copy them over to the flash drive and/or external hard drive. If the files themselves don't have a password associated, after copying them to a different computer you can import them ("File->Import and Export" in Office 2007, probably something similar in earlier versions).

Sorry, I wish I could be more helpful. From the looks of it (my estimation), the major manufacturers appear to be shipping 32 bit and not saying so explicitly because customers might ask why when they're purchasing the advertised 64-bit hardware. If this is the case, it is very misleading--if not, they should certainly be more forthright with information. --- I should also mention something that is somewhat contrary to a couple of my previous posts on the subject of Vista. My very favorite feature, WinFS, got cut even after a beta had been released and it was scheduled for an out-of-band release after Vista's official release. I still think Vista has some great benefits. I love having my tablet laptop with Vista Ultimate running media center while joined to a corporate domain. Previously, Media Center was a special version of Windows which couldn't join domains. And Tablet XP, like Media Center XP, was a separate version of Windows--so I had to choose between tablet and media center functionality. Well, all that versioning got fixed with the Ultimate edition. Gadgets are cool, aero is awesome, flip3d is fun, and most importantly the new Windows programming APIs are excellent and will facilitate great-looking, great-communicating applications being created much more easily and reliably than before (see the WPF Yahoo Messenger demo). The ease and speed of searching is vastly improved, per-application sound is awesome, and there are lots of things like this that are easy to pass over but make going back to XP annoying. The account control, which Mac ads seem to find annoying, are not annoying at all--for the first couple days or so you'll have things popping up for permission but as soon as you allow all the main stuff you only get popups when new applications are trying to access resources they haven't before.

Thanks for that distinction. I mostly stay away from words like this. It sounds like it's just something I need to personally go through and reduce a couple to understand them properly to resolve any confusions I have about them.

I'm not sure what would be the proper forum for this type of post. I noticed the post here about the definitions of envy versus jealousy, and that's why I chose this one. From the intro to The Fountainhead (copied from Oliver Computing's wonderful CD): Does anyone know of any work done on attempting to give proper definitions of these words? If not, would anyone be interested in undertaking such a task in a "study group" sort of format? If so, we could: Come up with a list of words that fit in this group Narrow the list down, if necessary Go through them in order, proposing definitions, discussing/refining them, and giving examples

Thanks for your very professional and helpful response. I have a lot of reading left, but I just re-read Scott's post knowing the general context and this has made it much more powerful and thought-provoking.

Spoilers included (free of charge) I particularly loved how the movie portrayed O'Neill's integrity and ability to keep his mission secret from his wife. In fact, she was great at not prying information from him throughout the movie. The only part of the movie I didn't quite fully buy into (as plausible for the characters) was Juliana asking him what was going on with Hanssen near the end. Since scenes like that are so common, I thought it was great that I would find it out of place in the movie. Still, I thought it was crucial in dramatizing O'Neill's courage so I'm glad it was there. And then, after that, I was very happy he was able to prioritize his values and choose his wife over what looked to be a very promising career opportunity. That career appeared to be what O'Neill's father wanted and wasn't fully self-motivated, and I didn't get the impression at all that his final decision was a sacrifice. As the movie was ending, I was wishing they would have a happy life together...even though they're just fictionalized characters. I enjoyed the movie very much.

Is this just a general trend or is this occurring with respect to specific issues? I haven't been following Objectivist discussions recently. I could try reading through a bunch of HBL topics I didn't find particularly interesting, reading through other forums, etc. But, I don't think that would be worthwhile because I don't know where this issue is occurring or how significant it is. I've liked the moderation here and haven't noticed a lot of personal attacks. If there are specific topics of disagreement, could anyone please point me (and any others who may be in my position) in the right direction to find them? Scott A., I liked your discussion and found it interesting, even without knowing the specifics you were referring to.

On 2/14, Terry Goodkind updated his website to include a "Philosophy" subsection to his "The Author" section. The website is in flash, so following the links at the top of the main page should take you there. I don't know if this is a misstatement on his part or a misreading on my part, but this appears to imply he thinks consciousness is detached from reality and people don't have control over their actions. I don't think this really fits with his stories or this statement in general. I assume he meant consciousness can't affect the nature of reality, not objects in reality themselves.

I don't know for sure, but I assume you're referring to Colbert here. If so, I disagree. His character is primarily making fun of irrationality and faith-based politics. For an example of this, see his speech at the White House Correspondents Dinner last year (particularly the section from 2 minutes on for a minute or so). He is clearly on the left and makes some remarks that support leaving Iraq or "fighting global warming." But while these are annoying I don't think they're essential to his character or his show.

I had media center open from recording 24, then happened to watch Colbert tonight; unfortunately, even though I immediately jumped for the record button I didn't get it all. It was really short and was an attempt at humor that didn't exactly portray Objectivism in a positive light. This seemed somewhat out of character on his show, since he's usually representing a Christian fundamentalist. I was surprised to hear the fully qualified "rational self-interest" as opposed to just "selfishness" though. The attachment space available isn't sufficient for a video, so I've uploaded it. The account is going away in a few months so this link will stop working eventually. It's only the second half, so if anyone wants to watch it in its entirety this probably won't be very useful. Colbert - last half of The Fountainhead segment